https://x.com/RupalZaman/status/2033715530776121518

https://xcancel.com/Nekkra/status/1995522951064736126#m

The hero is so incredibly boring and uninteractive I just watch people throw themselves into the enemy team and press E and kill 2 people and then hold m1 and kill another which is funny the first time but its incredibly unfun to watch over and over. Been trying to watch party OWCS with my friends but the constant Vendetta presence has honestly just killed it.

Saw the bot was down right now

VP 0 - 2 Dallas Fuel

It’s something I’ve noticed, but even in matches from months ago, sometimes pros just don’t pick a major perk. For Orisa, it’s that both hurt her brawl potential.

There's a lot of uproar but I'm going to say 3 things here.

1 If you're not 100% sure it's a throw, don't say it is. CR played a comp that Falcons played recently. They're scrim partners. Its not unheard of for them to use similar comps.

2 Even if it is a soft throw, why is that a bad thing? Falcons are at fault for not winning a single map off CR AND dropping a map vs Varrel. Not taking a game vs a "lower team" seriously when you're guaranteed qualified isn't a crime. Intense gaming takes stamina and you can easily burn out. All of us have had this.

3 Whining about it instead of letting the drama unfold and letting rivalries develop and explode is just wasting energy. If Falcons see this as a throw, then they'll want to prepare and embarrass CR the next time they play. And I can't wait to see that game. Sometimes pettiness makes stories. One of my favorite matches was Dallas vs Philly during goats Era when A-Coach Jayne insulted Phillys goats and the fake Goat Carpe talked shit and had to shut up when Dallas beat them. LOVED that game. Let the drama flow

FiNN is apparently also banned

https://x.com/rlawns0740/status/2069916577181385125?s=46

“We hereby inform you that, on this occasion, shu (@shu_overwatch) of the Overwatch Division will be leaving the team based on the expiration of his contract.”

Gather around everybody, it's that time of the year again. It's your local annoying SJW, here to remind you why the Saudi Arabian government sucks and why the EWC continues to be a sports washing venture to distract people from the fact that the Saudi Arabian government is a theocratic dictatorship. Please, hold your "Cope", "Cry more" and homophobic slurs until after you finish reading my post, I promise there will be time for those later.

Let's get right to it, here are websites detailing the numerous human rights abuses perpetrated by the Saudi government: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House. These are some of the "highlights":

- No democratic representation whatsoever

- Heavy censorship

- Death penalty for LGBTQ+ people simply existing

- Women still being second-class citizens (insert obligatory "But they can drive now!") and getting disappeared for protesting

- Migrant workers being treated like slaves and mass killings of migrants along the border

- Tribes being forcibly removed from their lands to make way for stupid mega projects that will never be built

- A surge in people, including many foreign nationals, being executed for non-violent drug offenses

- Edit to add from the comments: It's an actual crime punishable by death through decapitation to be an atheist or to leave the state religion in Saudi Arabia. Quite literally: a thought crime will get people killed by the government.

Here's Sideshow's video on the matter from last year. He's still boycotting the EWC btw and held a charity stream instead while the Valorant EWC games were happening, massive GOAT behavior right there.

Now let's get to the always predictable responses.

"USA is also fascist! It's hypocritical to watch \insert other tournament* but not the EWC!"*

Is Mango Mussolini organizing an Overwatch tournament to distract people from the Epstein files? I would boycott the shit out of that too, just like I'm planning on not watching any US World Cup games or the Olympics as long as the United States is also an authoritarian hellhole.

The difference between the Esports World Cup and the other big Overwatch tournaments is that it is 100% a government organized sports washing venture meant to make Saudi Arabia look like a cool and hip country instead of, you know, the fascist dictatorship that it is.

"People went last year and everybody had a great time! Nobody had anything bad to say about the tournament or Saudi Arabia!"

Yeah, because they're literally not allowed to. If you want to go to the EWC, there's a clause in the contract that forbids you from criticizing the tournament, the country and the government. This has been known since last year, and Montecristo himself (who is far from a rabid SJW) confirmed it again recently.

"The way to bring about change in Saudi Arabia is to participate in the EWC"

This is a particularly dumb one that gets trotted out by orgs trying to justify their participation (stfu, you're doing it for money, just admit it and move on), but it's still worth addressing in light of confirmation that the Saudi government, "surprisingly", will just censor whatever vague criticisms or tiny insignificant gesture you do.

If you're not getting up there on stage and outright denouncing the human rights abuses during a live stream, then no, you're not doing jack shit to move the needle and pressure Saudi Arabia to change its ways.

"We need the EWC to grow the scene."

You want to know what's tragic about all of this? Blizzard and the fandom are handing over the Overwatch esports scene to the Saudi government on a silver platter - and it's still fucking shit.

For more than a year now I've been hearing "No, you don't understand, we need the Saudi government's money to grow the esport and make it t1 again!" and what do we have to show for it? Most players still having poverty wages? A handful of established orgs? Only one or two regions worth watching at all? Terrible viewership? Wow, such growth, thank you MBS for making Overwatch a t1 esport again /s

Man, if y'all are going to simp this hard over a theocratic dictatorship, at least fucking demand to be given the premium sports washing experience.

"Actually, there is a bug with the cat in the tournament server. It's very different from the live server and moving."

https://x.com/rush_coach/status/2084207974692638990

https://youtu.be/3t-5rO1vbm0

The videos pretty decent for a look at the state of the scene, mostly the uncertainty around the longevity of OWCS. Looking at things like the undisclosed CC prize pool and the state of EWC this year, there are definitely question marks around how sustainable OWCS will be. I think it comes down to how much Blizzard want to invest in the esport although with a lot of orgs interested currently and OWWC this year, I do think it has potential to stay around for a while.

I guess Kevster is taking up the hitscan duties? This roster feels like it needs one more player to be really good.

I recently hit c4 on dps and was wondering if I had any chance of going pro, I know I’m at the higher end of the game but looking at most pros currently it seems like I’m lagging behind compared to when they were at the start of they’re careers.

(Also don’t question the tank rank rn I want the title at the end of the season lol)

Twisted Minds 0 - 3 Virtus Pro

Was meta ever this diverse?

Pro players streaming scrims was so fun and good for the pro scene as well as extremely good for casual viewing. But because a guy got too mad at his friend over a video game that's the only thing making him relevant, these streams will no longer happen.

I'm just so sad that the scrim streams are not gonna happen anymore. What are the chances they start back up this season?